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Foreclosure Timeline in California Foreclosures in California are primarily administered out of
court, although court foreclosures are allowed. Out-of-court
foreclosures take about four months.
Pre-foreclosure Period
Court foreclosures only occur if a lender desires a deficiency judgment.
This process gives a borrower up to one year to redeem the property
after the foreclosure sale.
In almost all cases, foreclosures are handled out of court. The process
begins when a lender files a notice of default with the county recorder
identifying the default amount and the date the borrower must pay off
the default. The notice is mailed to the borrower and other affected
parties.
Up to five business days before the trustee's sale, the borrower may
pay off the default plus any applicable costs of foreclosure and stop
the foreclosure process. Three months after the notice of default is
filed, the lender can schedule a trustee's sale of the property.
Notice of Sale / Auction
At least 20 days before the trustee's sale, the notice of sale must be
posted on the property and in one local public location. The notice is
also published once a week for three weeks in a local newspaper,
starting at least 20 days before the sale date. The notice is mailed to
the borrower at least 20 days before the sale and to anyone who
requests the notice. The notice must contain the date, time, and
location of the sale, the property address, and the trustee's contact
information. In addition, the notice of sale must be recorded with the
county recorder at least 14 days before the sale.
The trustee's sale is a public auction and the property is sold to the
winning bidder. The trustee may require bidders to pay the full bid
amount in cash or cashier's check. Anyone may bid at the sale,
including the lender and any junior lien holders. A trustee's sale may
be postponed by announcement at the sale. If a sale is postponed
more than three times, a new notice of sale must be issued.
After the sale is complete, the trustee transfers ownership to the
winning bidder. The borrower does not have the right to redeem the
property after the sale.
TheJNLGroup and Prudential California Realty provides this information as a guide. The information provided should not be used as a
substitute to talking to a professional tax advisor or real estate attorney about your individual situation.
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